Istanbul , Turkey -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Howling winds ripped through Turkey 's largest city Wednesday afternoon , tearing flags from their poles , destroying the set of a blockbuster Hollywood film , and injuring at least 31 people , Turkish authorities said .

Three of the injured were in critical condition from the freak storm caused by a strong southwesterly wind known in Turkey as lodos .

The winds -- measured at 100 kph or 62 miles per hour -- ripped the roofs from some 350 buildings , the Istanbul municipality reported , and downed more than 100 trees .

Fishing boats rushed to the rescue of desperate passengers aboard a yacht that caught fire in the Bosporus , the strait that divides the densely populated city .

As the wind quickly whipped up flames emerging from the back of the boat into a huge blaze , nervous passengers dressed in business suits clustered around the bow of the vessel .

The Turkish television agency DHA filmed the passengers getting onto fishing boats as the fire engulfed the rest of the yacht . Turkish media said the passengers escaped the dramatic blaze unharmed .

In Istanbul 's posh Nisantasi neighborhood , the gusts ripped down an advertising billboard and sent construction scaffolding crashing down onto the pavement and parked cars .

The storm also wreaked havoc on the set of the aptly named James Bond film `` Skyfall . '' Turkish media have been reporting daily on the film 's production , which is occupying Eminonu , one of Istanbul 's most congested and historic wharf districts .

CNN sister network CNN Turk showed video of film and set equipment in Eminonu 's main square scattered and damaged by the storm .

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The storm wreaks havoc on a James Bond film set

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Roofs are ripped off and trees are felled

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The lodos is a strong southwesterly wind